


Hailstorm

by FayeWildwood



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, FrostWave, Kid Fic, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, More Tags to be added as I go, Post-Oculus (DC's Legends of Tomorrow), Time Travel, coldflash - Freeform, no idea how to tag this, retired time travelers Mick and Len, rewrite of an abandoned story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-02-27 12:31:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13248303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FayeWildwood/pseuds/FayeWildwood
Summary: (A rewrite of a story I started a while ago and didn't end up liking enough to continue.)When Captain Cold invited the rogues over for dinner, he rightfully expected the ones from his own time period to show up: Hartley, Lisa, Mick, Mardon, Baez, etc. What he did not expect, was to be halfway through his meal when a big blue portal opened up in his current safe house's living room and a girl in a blue and white tri-polymer dress to come skittering out of it. Nor was he expecting her to be none other than his daughter from the future who came back in time to ask for help finding her missing girlfriend. The hero's work is never done.(Shitty summary, but give it a chance :)





	1. Off Her Rocker

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a rewrite of my previous work called Hailstorm. I didn't like where I was going with the other one and this idea popped into my head late last night and came with a plot! So yay! Hope everyone enjoys!

_The blue light was blinding, the pain pulling him apart by the molecule._

_And he welcomed it. Welcomed his last breath with the knowledge that the others would be safe._

_"Not yet," a voice whispered into his ear, blue lightning mixing with blue flame. "Not yet, just hold on."_

_The hands were tight and hot, wrapping around him and pulling... pulling... pulling..._

_"Not yet-"_

\--

When Captain Cold invited the rogues over for dinner, he rightfully expected the ones from his own time period to show up: Hartley, Lisa, Mick, Mardon, Baez, etc. What he did not expect, was to be halfway through his meal when a big blue portal opened up in his current safe house's living room and a girl in a blue and white tri-polymer dress to come skittering out of it. Her brown curls fell to frame her face, the rest hidden under a fur lined hood and there was a tight half domino mask covering most of her face. His eyes zeroed in on a gun eerily similar to his own that was strapped to her blue tights covered leg, partially hidden by the fur lining of her dress, but he'd know that casing anywhere.

Len remained seated, munching away at the meatloaf Mick had cooked, while the others all sprang into action, guns or gauntlets raised, but none firing yet until Len gave the order.

The girl looked just as stunned as his rogues did, her chest heaving heavily and her eyes flickering back and forth between the different faces before landing on Len. "N-no," she gasped, hand raising to grip at her chest like it was paining her. "No, no, no! This isn't right!" At his raised eyebrow, she groaned, grabbing a chair that was close by and launching it at a wall in anger. Len didn't even flinch, but she didn't seem to care, carding her fingers through brown curls and shoving her hood back with the action. "I fucked up, I fucked up. She's not here, she's not-" Her eyes met his again and he frowned at the familiarity he saw in them.

He saw the lightning before the others did, saw the flicker in her eyes so similar to his own speedster's that it was unmistakable, only hers was blue. She was in front of him in the next second but he was already standing, already pointing his gun in the girl's direction. Unknown speedsters made him nervous, and rightfully so. 

The girl didn't seem bothered at all by the gun, her hands reaching out to grab at Len's leather jacket. "You gotta help me find her! You have to! Dad, h-he's gonna be mad, pissed... god I fucked up so bad but she was gone and I-I can't-" fingers gripped tighter in leather and his finger twitched on the trigger but he still didn't fire, keeping his face carefully clear of any emotion. The girl was obviously off her rocker, her eyes crazy and pain etched into her skin like a tattoo. Crazy was unpredictable and he didn't like it, but still something told him to wait, made him hesitate. "Please, please you have to help me find her. I can't- I can't go nuclear, I can't- I need her, please."

"Listen kid," Len drawled, raising his gun a bit to lean it on his shoulder, finger still tapping the trigger in warning. Yet again, to his great annoyance, she didn't even seem to notice it. "You barge in here on family night when my partner made his best meatloaf, rudely not bothering to knock, and want me to find some girl for you? Sorry sweetheart, but you've mistaken me for the hero type. You'd have better luck with the Flash."

"Flash," she gasped, stumbling backwards a bit and her fingers letting go almost instantly like he'd burned her. "N-no he's going to be so mad. No you can't tell him. Please, please don't- I'll fix it first. I can fix it, I just have to find Roxy, I just have to..." she turned on her heal to face Hartley, making the kid jump in surprise. "Hart, please you gotta help! Y-you can find her, you can find her right?"

Len's eyebrow raised and his eyes flickered to the piper's, obviously searching for some sort of answer.

The piper only raised his gauntlets in defense and frowned. "Uh, I don't know you."

"You don't- oh, right..." Something in the girl changed then, the nerves and lightning that had been flickering under her skin going dull in an instant. Her whole body seemed to sag and any energy that she might have had was gone. When she turned back to Len, her eyes had a dead sort of look to them and her smile was a bit self-pitying. Her nose started bleeding slowly and a few moments later she dropped heavily to her knees. "He'll be so mad. I tried to save you, I did it for him... I didn't think- I just- now she's gone and I can't stop the light... can't stop it..."

She was unconscious before any of them could get to her.

\--

"Listen Scarlet, I already told you, I don't know the kid," Len scowled as Mick carried the girl through the labs and into the medical room where Doctor Snow was waiting, Hartley and Lisa close behind. "I've never seen her before, and neither has Rathaway from what he knows. She just stumbled into the safe house, asked for our help and collapsed. She bled all over my damn rug."

She was young, even younger it would seem when they pulled off the domino mask she'd been wearing. She had high cheekbones, full lips and a small mole just under her left eye. Again the feeling of familiarity struck him and he wondered why. Like he'd told Barry, he'd never seen her before.

"You don't recognize her at all?"

Len shook his head, following the speedster into the med room. "Nope, but she had that on her when we found her," he said, nodding to the cold gun that Lisa had hooked on her belt. It was almost identical to his own, but not quite. There were other upgrades and attachments that he couldn't recognize. "It's not mine, that's for sure."

Doctor Snow made quick work in attaching various sensors and IV's to the girl, fingers prodding and searching. "You said her nose just started bleeding and she collapsed?"

He nodded, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. "She was a bit... lost if you ask me."

"Crazy as a bag of beans," Mick grunted next to him. "Throwin' shit, beggin' for help to find some girl named Roxy. Said her dad would be pissed, said she fucked up and then asked us to help."

"Asked me specifically," Len continued. "Then when I said no, she said Hartley could find the girl."

All eyes slid over to the piper who rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't know the girl or any Roxy. I don't know why she thought I could help, or why I even would. The girl is obviously nuts. Maybe it's some weird thing to do with the speedforce."

All action seemed to freeze as the others looked up at Hartley, Barry's eyes widening behind his mask and jaws dropping. "Speedster?" Barry asked, interest mixing with suspicion. "She's a speedster and you didn't think that was the first thing you should have told me? How did she get into your safe house, did she run in?"

A bit confused at the question, Len shook his head. "No, she appeared in a big portal. It's gone now." The Doc's hands left the girl almost instantly and she took a few steps backwards, staring at the girl like she was a ghost. The rogues instantly tensed, because if something worried Team Flash, it worried them, and Len's hand found his gun immediately. "That mean something to you, Scarlet?"

"I need to know everything she told you," he said quickly, choosing to ignore the girl and rounding on Len instead. "Everything."

"She didn't tell us much at all," he said slowly, honestly. "She said she fucked up, didn't say how. Said something about her dad being pissed because of it, said she'd try and fix it and that she needed to find this Roxy person." Len thought back to the scene in his head and frowned. "And before she passed out, she said, 'I tried to save you, I did it for him.' Not that that makes any sense because I don't know this girl, or her father."

Barry's eyes widened at the last bit of knowledge and his frown deepened. "Maybe not yet," he said quietly, turning back to look at the girl. "When speedsters run fast enough, they can break the barrier between dimensions and they can break the barrier between time. It's a fine line, hard to grasp, especially if you're new to it. I've done it plenty of times on accident and too many times on purpose. But travelling back in time is dangerous- too dangerous for any speedster to be allowed to do. If she's from the future, then we have to be very careful."

"What does that mean? We've been all over the past and future before, Red," Mick countered, crossing his massive arms over his chest. "We might have fucked up a lot, but things seemed to fix themselves."

"It's different, I think. Time machines, they surf through time because they were built for it. It's easier to travel through for them and time is... malleable. It takes time to solidify so it can fix itself if the damage is minimal. Speedsters," the meta paused and ran a hand over his cowl like he wanted to card it through his hair. Len could see the tension in the kid's shoulders, see the debate in his eyes as he tried to figure out what to do. "Speedsters are more like... like a torpedo slicing through the water. We force our way through the barrier whereas the barrier opens itself for a time ship. Our impact is more severe because the edges are ripped and damaged. It's kind of hard to explain, but that's the best I can do. Either way, it's harder to repair the damage done by a speedster, so if she's from the future... there's no telling what she's changed just by coming here."

"But that's depending on your theory of time travel," Hartley interrupted, adjusting his glasses. "Some people think travelling through time can cause terrible damage and change everything. But some think that you're just following fate so to say. That going back in time and interacting with one person made them who they were from your time."

Mick nodded and pointed at the kid. "Yeah, we met the star wars guy, inspired him to make the movies in the first place."

"But," Doctor Snow argued, "Professor Stein interacted with his younger self and created a daughter he never had."

"The point is," continued the Flash, "we just don't know. Time is tricky and she doesn't like being messed with. This could be the plan, or it could be trouble. We won't really know until she wakes up, or we might not know at all. Still... it's probably best you brought her here. I'd rather not have an unknown speedster from the future wandering around Central and messing up time."

"Anything for you, Scarlet."


	2. Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mysterious speedster wakes up and has a long, informative conversation with Len.

_"Who are you?"_

_"Don't worry, you'll be fine. They'll take care of you."_

_He tugged away from the hands, trying to let the blue flames pull him back in but the fingers were iron around his arms. "Just let me go," he begged, shaking his head. "Just let me go."_

_"You can't. You can't die today. I need you alive, he needs you alive."_

_"Let me die."_

_"Not yet."_

\--

"Am I in trouble?" the girl asked when Len walked back into the medroom, long after Team Flash had separated to do their respective duties. She looked weak, her face pale and her breathing still labored, but the sadness in her eyes had Len softening a bit. She didn't look scared, not in the sense of getting hurt... she looked like a kid afraid of a parent's disappointment. "Is he mad?"

Len raised an eyebrow and walked to the sink, filling up a glass with water before stepping over to her. "Is who mad?"

"Dad," she said, moving slowly to sit up and take the water from him, her hands shaking a bit. "H-he warned me about time travel and I had to go and do it..." she shook her head and closed her eyes. "I should never have gone back... it was too dangerous but you- I have to find Roxy. She's in trouble and I... I can't do this without her."

Something in the way she spoke had Len frowning and he waited until she opened her eyes again to speak. "Kid, do you know where you are right now?" She frowned at him, glancing around a bit as if to make sure she was still in the Labs. "Let me rephrase, do you know _when_  you are?"

Blue eyes shot back to his own and widened. "I-I'm still there- here? I'm still in the past?" Len's lack of expression must have answered the question because she would have dropped the glass in her hands if Len hadn't grabbed a hold of it first. "No, no I was just supposed to get to Roxy. It wasn't supposed to send me into the past in the first place. And I thought- I thought when I passed out that I..."

"You're still here, kid, sorry to break it to you." Thinking her probably still in shock too much to drink, he set the glass on the table and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Now, our resident speedster has already given us the time travel shpeil, not that we needed it, but is there anything you _can_  tell us? Because the Flash you see, he's got a heart too big for his chest and he's determined to help you out, not only to get you back to your own time but to help you with your Roxy situation." Len rolled his eyes, but it was a fond roll instead of an annoyed one and the girl seemed to calm a bit as she listened to him. "So I'm going to leave any information you decide to give us to your own discretion, but we need _something_." She opened her mouth, closed it again, then repeated the action with a contemplative look that had Len holding back a sigh. "Let's start with your name. I'm Leonard."

"I uh..." A small smile spread across her lips and she giggled a bit, nodding at him. "I know who you are. I'm... I'm Nora, but I go by Mickey. My middle name is Michael," she answered his silent question. "I don't think I can tell you my last name without giving you certain information."

"That Barry's your dad?"

Mickey blinked in surprise, pulling back a bit and her smile falling. She stuttered in shock and he found himself chuckling quietly and leaning back in his chair. "Honestly kid, it's not that hard to figure out. The hair, the cheekbones, the speed. Really it was just a guess until you confirmed it just now. Not to mention the fact that you've been worried about your dad being afraid of you traveling in time." He shrugged and glanced down at her mask, laid atop the table next to them. "Scarlet's done it plenty of times to know better. No doubt he'd tell his kids. Besides, his mom's name is Nora."

She bit at her lip, fidgetting with the blanket in her lap before nodding. "Yeah, uh... yeah. He's my dad."

"Don't worry, I wont tell if you don't want me to. But you gotta give me some more information here, speedy," he said seriously. "Anything you could get away with telling us, about this Roxy? Maybe about why you look like shit?"

Mickey cringed a bit but it didn't seem to be about his insult. "First of all, it's Hailstorm, not Speedy. Ro- my cousin wouldn't be too happy about me stealing her old name. I uh... Well I'm a hero like my dad," she said carefully, tapping her fingers against her hand in a flurry of blue lightning. "I work on a team of younger heroes, working smaller jobs while our parents are out saving the galaxy and stuff. Roxy is..." a fond, soft look came over the girl's face and she blushed a bit. "She's my best friend, my partner. We've been together since we were kids, joking about getting married and saving the world and stuff. Roxy, she's got the same powers as her dad and uh..." the fond expression melted to one darker and Mickey swallowed around a lump in her throat. "Something happened. My dad pissed off someone he shouldn't have and they went after his- my... they went after my pops." She said  that extremely carefully, like she was trying desperately not to let any extra information slip, but a shock sliced through Len's heart almost instantly at the new information. He knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions... there could be a million reasons why Barry's daughter would have another father, but he couldn't help but find himself hoping for a specific reason.

He motioned for her to go on, not trusting his voice just yet.

"Well I couldn't let that happen and dad, he was off planet with- uh... that's not important. Point is, he wasn't there and I had to do something so I did." She raised a shaking hand and rubbed the back of her neck. It was so Barry that Len felt as if he were hit in the face with the obviousness of the girl's features. She was the splitting image of the speedster save for the blue eyes. He wasn't sure why he didn't see it the second she showed up in his safe house. "I did something really stupid, something he would have killed me for if he knew. I can't tell you much of the details without- well you understand." Len nodded, though he was damn curious and he wanted to dig the information from her even if he knew he shouldn't. "Well I went somewhere and took my pops' place, sacrificed myself so he didn't have to, you know? It was the heroic thing to do and my dad would have never forgave himself if pops got hurt because of him-"

"You didn't think it'd hurt him just as bad for you to have gotten hurt instead?" Len asked, worry suddenly flaring up out of nowhere in his stomach.

"Honestly I didn't think about it," she muttered. "I guess I figured I wasn't as important. It- there was a lot more at stake than just his life and if this enemy had done what he set out to do... well let's just say it would have been a lot worse than my death." Len didn't understand that and she must have been able to see the confusion on his face because she gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine now. Well... I guess not really but that's where Roxy comes in. Like I said, she has the same powers as her dad and she came to find me in- uh... where I was," she quickly corrected, rubbing her neck again. "Her powers let her get there and sort of... stitch me back together you could say. But I wasn't stable."

The rogue tilted his head a bit and frowned. "What do you mean you weren't stable?"

"The o- the place I was, it did stuff to my head. I was in there for a... very long time. It felt like eons and due to my powers it felt even slower than a normal person might have. It was torture for a speedster. So when Roxy pulled me back out, my mind wasn't all there. I was broken, fragmented. She had to anchor me to something to keep me grounded."

"Yesterday," Len realized, remembering back to how the girl was acting. "You were acting crazy, no offense. You could barely keep a line of thought straight and you started bleeding."

Mickey nodded, raising a hand to her lips as if to brush away the blood from the day before. "My brain will go haywire, either start working too fast for it to process, or too slow. My powers get out of control sometimes. Aunt Cait tells me it's a form of psychosis mixed with low latent inhibition. Or at least that's what she can compare it to considering the fact that I'm a speedster and nothing like this has happened before."

"So this Roxy, she anchored you to something," he said, rounding back to the important information.

"Yeah, she anchored me to her. The way her powers work, it was easier to change my- uh... she made it so-" the girl paused, frowning deep and running a hand through her hair. "The how isn't really important and I can't really explain it without giving stuff away so... the point is, we're connected. She keeps me sane, keeps me in check. But a few days ago she disappeared. I can't function without her, literally. I mean look at me," she gestured to her body as if it proved her point and dug her fingers into her scalp. "I'm a wreck, I look like shit, I'm making stupid mistakes and getting caught... I'm having nose bleeds again. And it's only going to get worse until I find her. So I followed the connection, but it just brought me here and I don't know _why_."

Len stayed silent as he contemplated the information. It was a lot to take in- the daughter of a man he'd falling in love with a long time ago, sitting here in front of him telling him that she sacrificed herself for Barry's lover, only to be stitched back together by her own lover... it was a lot. But something was still itching at his mind. "You knew me, and Hartley. You thought we could help you get Roxy back, why?"

Mickey bit her lip, as if she was physically stopping herself from blurting out something he shouldn't know. "I uh... you've worked with the Flash before," she said carefully. "And Hart- he uh..." she contemplated what she was going to say next for exactly 52 seconds before deciding it wouldn't damage anything too much. "He knows Roxy's dad very well. I didn't- I don't think I realized when I showed up in your safe house that I was really... _here_  you know? I was having a hard time grasping the fact that I'd time traveled, I've never done it before. I figured he'd be able to get me to C- to Roxy's dad so he'd help me find her."

"Because he has the same powers?" The speedster nodded and Len hummed. "And does he have the same powers right now? In this time?"

"I... yeah, as far as I know."

"And would he be able to find her now, in this time, using those powers?"

The path he was taking was clear and Mickey's eyes widened a bit. "B-but wouldn't telling him mess something up? It'd tell him that he has a daughter he didn't know about in the future. And his- Roxy's... they're not together yet, not in this time, I don't think judging by how young- I mean... would it be safe?" she finally settled on.

Len shrugged and slowly stood, handing the water back to her. "Honestly kid, I'm not sure what's safe to know and what isn't considering you're here. If you can tell him without giving too much information and he can find her? Might get you home sooner with less ramifications. That's a risk you've gotta decide on."


	3. Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey has a talk with team flash and a newcomer appears.

_"You leave him out of this! Take me instead -"_

_"Stop, I'm already gone."_

_It was a girl, he'd figured that much out. Young by the sounds of it. Crying. Trying to save a thief that didn't want to be saved._

_"Shut up," hands pulling and pulling, "I'm getting you out of here. The Oculus can have me."_

_Who was this girl who thought she wasn't important enough? Who thought Len was? He didn't deserve saving, he didn't-_

_"They'll take care of you."_

_\--_

"So you're a speedster," Barry said slowly after he, team flash, Len, Mick, Hartley and Lisa had all gathered in the Cortex with Mickey. She nodded, fidgeting a bit from her chair. She was still a bit weak- and in a lot of pain, though she wouldn't tell anyone else that- so Caitlin had ordered her to rest, but she'd managed to convince the doctor to at least let her out of bed. Plus,  her... parents needed an explanation. "And you're here to find your girlfriend because without her you're unstable. But you can't tell us why or who you are or who she is."

"I mean I could," Mickey mumbled as she shrugged, running a hand through her hair. "But it could effect things since our parents aren't together yet and I don't want to fuck things up any more than I probably already have."

The entire team looked like a big mixture of confusion and frustration, and honestly Mickey couldn't blame them because she felt the same way. "Okay, so we know how you got here. How did Roxy get here?"

The girl frowned, head ticking to the side in a way that was all to familiar to Len now that he knew who she was. "I'm not sure because I don't know if she came willingly or not. I woke up and she was just... gone. If she came here willingly, then she used her powers, but..." she shared a look with Len and bit her lip. "I can't tell you about those without letting on who her dad is... which I can do because it'd make it easier finding her but-"

"Could affect the timeline," Barry finished for her with a sigh. "But you need this Roxy?

"Yes," she answered too quickly, blushing a bright scarlet. "I uh... we- I can't live without her, both figuratively and literally." She waved to Cisco who blinked. "We vibrate at the same frequency. Some... things happened last year that caused me to get hurt and in order to fix me, we had to kind of... join together if that makes any sense? We made it so she was my anchor, my constant. Anytime one of us is in trouble, we feel it. But it's extra for me because being on the same frequency means she can pull me back when I get too..." Mickey rolled her head on her shoulders with a frown, trying to think of the right word. "When I get too lost, you could say."

Cisco's eyes widened a bit and he nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm not quite sure how you'd do it, but if it could be done, it makes sense. Like how my goggles help center me when I'm vibing, help me focus on stuff. Roxy is your goggles."

Mickey giggled but the explanation fit well enough so she nodded. A few moments later though, her face fell and she rubbed at her chest, the hollow feeling within it tugging at her. "Roxy is here somewhere, I can feel it... I just- I don't know where she is. She's not in pain, I know that, but- I don't know. It's hard to explain."

"You said she has the same powers as her dad right?" Mickey nodded, looking up at her dad with wide eyes. "Could he find her? Using those powers?"

She didn't have to think about that one, because she knew the answer. Cisco had used his powers to find Roxy plenty of times when Mickey needed her, or on the rare occasions that she'd gotten taken or hurt on a job. "Yes, he could, but- I mean in all honesty as long as he still gets together with Roxy's- I mean with his partner, I don't think telling you would change anything... but... time is really fragile, especially when it comes to me. She doesn't like me much." She looked at Len again, a sadness in her eyes that had him frowning, but there was also a question in those eyes. "It has to do with people you know so I-I think the decision should be left up to you guys..."

"Roxy's the kid of someone we know?" Caitlin questioned, frowning. 

"Yeah, most of my team is made up of the kids of your friends and family..."

"If she's in danger, we have to help," Iris chimed in, looking towards her dad and Wally. She'd do anything if her family was in danger, even if it meant tempting time. "I say she tells us."

A few others nodded, but Barry found himself frowning, running a hand over his head. "Last time I used my powers to change things, I messed up bad, guys... I don't- I don't know if this is a good idea, but... you're right. We need to find Roxy, if not just to help, but to get you both home before any worse damage is done." He sighed and pinched his nose. "The longer you're here, the worse it'll get so if we can avoid that by you telling us just a few things... I don't know, it might be better off that way."

"Cisco," was all Mickey said, her voice loud enough to be heard, but still unsure.

"What?"

They all blinked at the girl before realization started settling in throughout the room, first with Len, then Barry, and so on down the line until cisco was the only one left clueless. He raised an eyebrow at the shocked faces . "What? Why are you all-" his eyes landed on Mickey who looked just a bit ashamed and the gears slid into place, his jaw dropping immediately. "Me?" he squeaked, pointing at himself as if there were another Cisco in the room. "Roxy is my- she's mine? Mine and who? I have a daughter? I named her Roxy?"

Shock mixed with awe in his voice and Mickey found herself blushing a bit. "Yeah, after her uh... after one of her grandmothers."

Cisco frowned at that. "I didn't have a grandmother named Roxy."

"No her other dad did though," she said, watching Cisco's face flare red and he stuttered at her. "Sorry, I- was that not... did you not tell people yet?"

"No that's okay," Cisco laughed a bit awkwardly. "They know, I just... never really- I mean... did we adopt?"

Mickey smiled and shook her head. "No, you guys got a surrogate, just like me." Her eyes found Len's again, registering the mild shock in them before continuing. "Uh- actually it was Caitlin who offered, but Roxy just calls her Auntie Cait like the rest of us."

There was a long silence after that as the new information sank in, Caitlin's face a bright red even if she was grinning at Cisco like the best friends in the world. Cisco, who was still trying to process that he had a daughter, took a seat at one of the computers and took a deep, supposedly calming breath. "This is- wow... a lot to take in I guess. I have a daughter. You're dating her. You're both on a super hero team of teenage metas... This is... wow." Something clicked behind his eyes and he looked up at Mickey suddenly. "You said I'm not with Roxy's dad yet, earlier, you said that." The girl nodded, fidgeting in her seat once more when the engineer's eyes zeroed in on her. "Am I uh- allowed to ask who it is?"

"Um... I don't think that's a good idea," she said awkwardly, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck. "I don't want to push you guys away from each other on accident by making something happen too soon. So..."

"Yeah no, better not," Cisco agreed, though he looked a bit put out by the decision. "Okay, but now the whole vibration thing makes more sense. If she's my kid then she has my powers right?" Mickey nodded. "Okay, great. So when you got... in trouble or whatever it was you're being super secretive about, she had to attach herself to you, make you both vibrate on your own frequencies opposite of everyone else if I'm thinking about that right. That could either make it easier or harder to find her, I'm not sure. I'm going to have to adjust my goggles a bit for it which will take a few hours if you can wait?"

Micky nodded, though she rubbed at her chest a bit. "I'm okay right now. The pipeline should be able to hold me if I get out of control."

"And what exactly happens when you get out of control?" Barry asked.

She didn't get the chance to answer however as the air changed. It was subtle, but familiar to most members of the room, like a static shock being sent through the air. The air bubbled and popped, a spot near one of the walls distorting before a large blue portal came into focus. It shifted, sparking like it was struggling to hold onto the connection and everyone in the room tensed. Weapons were drawn and Barry was in his Flash suit within seconds.

Mickey was standing though, stepping towards the portal with wide eyes. "Roxy? Roxy is that you?" There was a desperation in her voice and Len found himself grabbing onto her arm in case she got the bright idea to walk through the portal. None of them knew where it was coming from, or knew if it was actually Roxy on the other side, but he could see the pain and questions in the young hero's eyes. "ROXY!"

"Christ, Mick, will you shut up already?" A new voice drawled before the portal disintegrated before them, leaving behind someone entirely new. He was tall, much taller than Mickey, with a tuft of white hair slicked back across his head, the sides shaved down to the scalp. He wore a pair of skinny jeans, white-beater and red suspenders, but nothing else. It served well to show off the collection of tattoos that traced up his muscular arms and over his shoulders- images of flames and snowflakes. His brown eyes flickered around the room quickly, hovering on Caitlin and Cisco before moving on. "Ah Mick... you fucked up bad this time."

Mickey swallowed back a sob and shot forward, wrapping her arms around the boy's waist in a gripping hug. He grunted, rolling his eyes but letting his arms drape across her shoulders as he hugged back. "I'm so glad you're here..."

'Yeah well, someone had to drag your ass back before your parents get home. Cisco's already pissed."

"And confused," Cisco chimed in from where he was adjusting his gauntlets, still not sure of the new member in the room. "Very confused. Who are you?"

The newcomer chuckled and shifted so Mickey was beside him but still under his arm. "I'm Roxy's half brother, you can call me Leo."


	4. She Got Jokes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets are revealed and Roxy gets a one way call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've uploaded for this one! Sorry about that! I'm working on so many stories, I kind of just bounce around to whichever one I have the inspiration for at the moment, so thank you everyone for being so patient with me! Enjoy!

 

_"You're meddling in things you shouldn't, girl."_

_That voice, it was a new one, one he didn't recognize. Just how many people were trapped in this hell hole?_

_"I'm meddling? You're the one trying to kill people off via time travel! I'm not letting you hurt him!"_

_They were getting closer to the exit, he could feel it, see it. Hands pulling and pulling at him until the bright light was all he could see._

_"You'll regret this, speedster. I'll make sure of it."_

\--

It was hard to tell who was the most surprised by that information, though Len kept his emotions carefully hidden behind his mask. The others though all blinked at the boy, trying to connect dots none of them could figure out.

"Half brother?" Cisco mumbled, "so you're not-"

"Yours?" Leo snorted and rolled his eyes, not bothering to actually answer the man. He looked down at Mickey instead and raised an eyebrow. "Exactly how much have you told them? We all got the time travel lecture when you and Rox came into your powers. We sat through a three hour powerpoint and you still came back here?"

Mickey reared up, anger filling her eyes as she shoved away from her friend. "Roxy is here! I can't just leave her trapped here because no one else would believe me she's missing!" She practically screamed, glaring up at the boy. "You know just as well as I do that I need her, I can't just leave her here. Besides, the time travel part was mostly an accident. I was just following Roxy's trail."

Leo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah that's what we figured. Hence me being here and not Cisco."

"What do you mean?"

"Why d'you think I'm here when Cisco could have come just as easily and taken you back himself?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. When Mickey didn't answer, he shrugged and gestured to himself. "No time travel powers here. If we want to get back, we either use you or Roxy- which means we need to find Roxy. OR," he cringed slightly, "we wait for you dad to find us. Point is, I'm here to help you find Rox and hopefully not fuck up the entire timestream in the process. Now, back to the question at hand, how much have you told them?"

A light blush dusted across Mickey's cheeks and she shrugged. "Cisco knows he's Roxy's dad, Caitlin knows she's the surrogate... that's all they know. And p... Mr. Snart knows who my dad is?" Leo's eyes widened in shock and all eyes turned to Len now, none of them having known that information yet. Mick shared a raised eyebrow with his partner, earning a shrug in return. "He figured it out for himself!" She defended, holding her hands in the air. "He doesn't know the rest of it!"

"Dude!" Cisco yelled at Len, scandalized and betrayed sounding. "You knew this whole time and didn't bother to mention it?"

Len had the decency to roll his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Not that hard to deduce really. Same with him," he said, nodding his head towards Leo. "My guess is you were named after me?"

Leo smirked and nodded. "He lost a bet."

Mick grunted from his spot and Len could see his muscles tense as his eyes scanned the teen up and down, assessing him. Despite common belief, Mick was a smart man. He may not care much, but that didn't mean he didn't pay attention. He often made connections just as fast, if not faster, than Len did. A moment later, his eyes flickered to Caitlin with what Len could only describe as a soft look. A hopeful one maybe.

"And cue the confusion again," Cisco grumbled, not picking up on what they were talking about.

"Oh," Barry said softly, blinking at Leo with a new light in his eyes and a smile spread over his lips as bright as the sun. "You're Roxy's half brother which means- Oh wow, that's awesome! I didn't recognize you because- I mean," he gestured to Leo who gave a dramatic turn and grin to which Barry laughed. "Honestly, I would have pegged you more as Len's kid just by looking. Or- I mean..." a frown settled on Barry's face and his head ticked to the side a bit, nose crinkling. "You're not are you?"

"Ew, no, absolutely not," Leo grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Mum would never, no offense."

Len shrugged. "None taken. Honestly can't say I'm surprised, he's been eyeing her for months now," he teased, reveling in the way Mick's cheeks tinged a light pink even as he sneered. Luckily no one else noticed.

"Half-Brother," Caitlin gasped quietly as the thought settled into her head and all eyes turned towards her. Leo's shoulders slumped a bit, a surprisingly sheepish smile coming to his face as he looked at her and Caitlin let out a half sob, half laugh. "Oh my- I mean when she said I was Roxy's surrogate... I just- I didn't know-" Barry put a hand on Caitlin's shoulder and she gave the young meta a watery smile. "After Ronnie, I wasn't sure I'd even be able to have kids, but-"

"Ah, mum don't cry," Leo grumbled, rolling his eyes and holding his arms open for her. With a surprising amount of speed, Caitlin rushed towards the meta and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, though he was about a head taller than her. "I hate it when you cry," he said. His tough and annoyed exterior melted immediately and he squeezed her tight. "And dad gets all squirmy when you do, so dry up the tears, old woman."

Caitlin chuckled softly and smacked him on the arm. "Do you speak to your mother with that mouth?"

"I'm sorry, was that-" Leo turned to Cisco and pointed at his mother in mock surprise. "Did she just tell a joke? I didn't know she was capable."

"Haha, very funny, mister. I see you spend a lot of time with Cisco," Caitlin smiled, taking a step back to look at the boy. She tutted at his tattoos and frowned when she traced a finger across a rather nasty scar on his collarbone. "Micky said you guys fought crime like your parents... Never figured my kids would follow up in- well our line of work."

Leo shrugged awkwardly. "Well, you couldn't really stop us. We grew up idolizing the heroes and with people like Mickey and I who have powers, we didn't see a reason not to. Though some of us get into worse trouble than others," he said pointedly, glaring at Mickey. She glanced away as if immune to his stare but he sighed. "Your dad is seriously going to kill you for this you know. After what happened last year-"

"He doesn't _know_  what happened last year," Mickey interrupted with a sharp look. "Pops doesn't even know what happened, just you and Roxy and Cisco. And no one is going to tell them because I would rather not be grounded and locked in a meta cage for the rest of my unnatural life."

Cisco frowned, raising a hand as if in class. "Uh, what happened last year?"

"Nothing-" Mickey and Leo said, the former more aggressive than the latter. Leo sighed however, turning back to Mickey with a frown. "Look, Cisco sent me back here to help you because he knows how important it is that you have Roxy around, not to mention, it's his _daughter_. I barely managed to talk him out of coming himself considering the whole paradox thing that could happen. We all know how that ended last time." He and Mickey winced but the older teen continued. "Your dad is on his way back to the watchtower though, so we really don't have a lot of time before he realizes you're gone or his memories start getting replaced with these ones. Do you have a plan at all?"

Mickey bit at her lip and gestured to Cisco. "Right now, he's our plan. He's going to try and adjust his goggles to find Roxy's frequency. Other than that? I kind of just planned on trying to follow the connection but now that I'm here..." She paused a bit too long and Leo raised an eyebrow at her, prompting her on with a wave of the hand- much like Len usually did. "Well I can't really keep hold of the connection. I can feel her, she's okay, a little scared... but I can't grab onto it like I normally can and I don't know why."

"That's not good," Leo said quietly, stepping close to the girl as if to comfort her. "Mick, last time that happened it didn't end too well."

"I know, I _know_ ," the girl replied, leaning her head on the taller man's chest. It was a surprisingly intimate moment between the two, one Len felt a bit uncomfortable watching. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how Scarlet's daughter ended up so close to Mick's son. Was it truly because of Caitlin? Team Flash was extremely close, but Mick didn't trust easily, Len doubted his kid did either. "But I don't have time to worry about that right now. We have to find her because whoever took her, took her for a reason. She's not trapped here, it wasn't an accident. I'm sure of that now. She was taken for a-"

A sharp gasp interrupted the girl and all eyes shot to Cisco who was holding his goggles in his hands. There was a strange look in his eyes, a far off and flickering look that Len didn't recognize, but the kids did because they both took a step closer. "He's vibing," Leo said quietly. "What do you see? Is it Roxy?"

"There's a girl," he said quietly, frowning and turning his head every which way like he was looking around the room. "Young, dark brown hair, big glasses on her face. She- oh, uh... hi?" Cisco flailed a bit and huffed, staring down at a spot on the floor like it had personally offended him. "Uh, no. You don't get to act like that, _I'm_  the one who's vibing you! This is not how this works!"

"What? What is it, what's happening?" Mickey demanded.

Cisco just huffed again and his shoulders slumped. "She's hijacking my vibe! I didn't even know that was possible, it shouldn't be. She shouldn't even be aware that I- yeah, yeah, _fine._  You know, for my kid, you're really bossy. Oh your dad huh? Well I'll have a talk with him later about- _alright!"_ Cisco grumbled something in spanish that had Hartley snorting before turning vaguely in Mickey's direction. "Roxy says she's fine, but you won't be able to find her with him around. Who's him?"

He ticked his head, like he was listening to something else, but Mickey tensed immediately. It wasn't something all of them noticed, but the rogues and Leo did, both turning their eyes to her in concern. "He took Roxy?"

"She said you'd know who she's talking about and that he's got some weird device that's blocking the connection. Do you know where you are at least?" Cisco asked, pausing as he waited for an answer. It was oddly like listening to one side of a phone conversation except they couldn't possibly hope to hear the other side. Cisco frowned and shook his head a bit sadly. "She doesn't know where she is. Some old factory or warehouse or something, but he's got meta-blockers on her so she can't use her powers. How are you hi-jacking my vibe if you can't use your powers?"

"I can't-" Mickey shook her head, her hands shaking at her sides as she stared at Cisco. "Rox, I can't fight him. I _can't_ , not by myself. Last time I- last time I barely made it back. I-" There was a strangled sound from the girl's throat and Len noticed that it wasn't that her hands were shaking... no, they were _vibrating_  and he honestly wasn't sure what to make of that. He took a cautious step forward, as did Barry who seemed to notice as well, a concerned frown on his face. "I almost got pops killed last time and now- now he's got _you_. I can't risk that, I can't-"

"I'm sorry," Cisco mumbled, his eyes focusing again. "I lost her."

Leo cursed at her side and turned to block her view of Cisco, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Mickey, Mickey look at me. Hey," he waited until those blue eyes were on him and he gave the girl a gentle smile. "You need to breathe, Mick. We just got proof of life, okay? That's good news, she's okay, she's fine."

"He has her, Leo," the girl gasped, her chest heaving and her eyes wide and unfocused. There was a panic in her words as she spoke, one that Len recognized from panic attacks his sister had when she was little. It tore at his heart a little and he couldn't help but wonder what was so bad about this guy that it had instantly triggered something. What had happened last year that she was so broken about it? 

_Not yet... not yet, just hold on..._

Leo was still talking, fingers gripping so hard they would leave bruises if the girl didn't heal so fast. The vibrations had spread up her arms now, but the other meta didn't let go, just bent his body over until they were almost at eye level. "Mick, babe, I need you to breathe, please. We have information now, we're not flying blind. We know who took her, that's great news."

"It's not great news, Leo! _He_  has her and he already tried to kill- Leo we can't fight him! We aren't strong enough. Pops didn't even stand a chance! He never saw it coming! How are we supposed to stop someone that _Captain Cold_  couldn't? I'm not as good as him! I can't just-"

" _Mick_ ," Leo scolded, his eyes wide in surprise. 

The words were already spoken though, despite the shock on the girl's face at uttering them and all panic evaporated as soon as it'd come. She spun on her heel, her blue eyes connecting with Len's as if she was a small child waiting for a scolding... a small child... _his_  child, with Barry.  He searched for himself in her, though logically he knew he wouldn't see it. She'd mentioned a surrogate and she was so obviously Barry's that she couldn't have Len's blood in her... still the signs were there. The gun he'd seen on her hip, the loyalty to her partner, her soft spot for heroes...

Mick snorted from the doorway.

Lisa let out a soft squeak of surprise.

Len couldn't take his eyes off the girl in front of him. 

He had a _daughter_.


	5. Not Gonna Make It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey has an episode and Leo updates the team on the truth.

_"What about you?"_

_"I can't come with you, not where you're going."_

_Fear flooded through his bones at those words and he found himself clutching to the grabbing hands. "You can't stay."_

_"Please, don't fight me. I'm not important, not like you. You have to be saved."_

_\--_

"No," Mickey breathed, her eyes widening and as soon as Len thought the panic was gone, it returned full force. Her body shook, vibrated so hard that blue lightning started sparking off her and Leo was forced to take a step back. "No he can't have you, he cant-" She brought her hands up to grip at the sides of her head and she closed her eyes. "He can't do this! I wont let him-"

She moved between breaths, faster than even Barry and a trail of blue followed behind her until she stopped right in front of Len. His hand was too slow to reach for his gun, and he flinched when she gripped his shoulders too tight. "I'm not leaving you here," she said frantically, blue eyes bright with lightning. "You can't die today."

The words were so achingly familiar that Len found his muscles tensing, caught off guard one too many times recently. 

"Mickey," Leo said loudly, yelling loudly over the almost musical sounds of her lightning bouncing off various metal items in the cortex- like a tesla coil. "He's still alive, you're- damnit!" he cursed, reeling back when a small shock sparked against his hand. "Mickey focus! You have to pull yourself back, Roxy isn't here to do it for you. You _have to focus!"_

But the girl was somewhere else. Len could tell by the clouded thunderstorms in her eyes that she didn't even know where she was right now. He knew that look well, got it himself plenty of times after the Oculus went off, saw it plenty of times in Mick's eyes whenever he got too close to the fire. But he was getting the idea that this wasn't just your every day ptsd induced panic attack. Mickey was squeezing his arms, tugging at him... _pulling_... "You leave him out of this," she was mumbling, shaking her head and closing her eyes to fight off whatever demons were warring in her head. "Take me instead- They'll take care of you."

Again the words sent chills up Len's skin, settling in his brain like a memory he couldn't quite remember. He raised his hands slowly, placing them on either side of the girl's face and forcing her to look up at him. Whatever she was fighting, he knew it had to do with the incident a year ago for her, knew that the moment she was reliving was one where she sacrificed herself for her pops... for him, he supposed. (God, he had a _daughter_.) "Mickey, hey, look at me. _Look_  at me." He waited until those blue eyes popped back open, finding his instantly. "I'm still here, okay? I'm alive, I'm not going anywhere. No one is taking me, understand? You need to focus, reel yourself back in. Try to find Roxy," he ordered, forcing her head to stay still when she tried to shake it. He could feel her fingers pulling at his jacket still, but he ignored them. "You said earlier that the connection was still there, that you could tell she wasn't hurt but you couldn't find her right? Well focus on that, focus on the feeling reminding  you that she's not hurt." He took one of her hands in his and pressed it against his chest, something he did with Lisa whenever she had her own panic attacks about Lewis. "Focus on me. You can feel me, you can feel Roxy. We're both still here."

"Don't worry," she whispered, the lightning now only surrounding herself instead of sparking throughout the room. Her eyes were still unfocused, and her nose had started bleeding again, but Len could feel her breathing slowing down, the talking working. "You'll be fine, they'll take care of you."

"That's right, they took care of me. Your dad took care of me, and I'll take care of you, okay. But I need you to breathe."

"I dont-" Mickey swayed on her feet as the lightning finally dulled to a barely there flicker. Leo and Caitlin moved forward slowly as not to spook her, worry etched into their features. The girl sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before whispering, "I'm not gonna make it," and collapsing into Lens arms.

"Mick!" Leo gasped, rushing forward and brushing her curls back as Len lifted her into his arms. 

Caitlin was leading them towards the med Bay immediately, spouting off orders and placing various sensors on the girls skin until one of the computers flared to life with her vitals.

The sound of her heartbeat released something in Lens throat and he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He turned towards the door of the room where the others were all watching, then to Leo who was at the bedside, clutching one of Mickey hands. He knew he shouldn't be having such strong feelings towards a girl who wasn't even born yet, but they fluttered around in his chest like storm clouds and he found himself formulating a plan in his head.

"Alright," he said loudly, drawing all eyes to him though his own met Leo's. "I think it's about time you told us what exactly happened a year ago."

\--

After a few hours of Caitlin getting Mickey tested and comfortable, and Barry going off to find food for everyone, they were all gathered in the large med bay, Leo standing awkwardly at the center of attention. They had already argued the pros and cons of him telling them their future, but with how deep it seemed to go, it left little choice.

So there they were.

"A year and a half ago, Mickeys dad let someone die," he said slowly, ignoring Lens shocked expression. "She was hurt from an attack on the city and even if they managed to get her out from under the rubble, her life would have never been the same. So she asked the- she asked Mickeys dad to leave, to go help someone else who needed him. She was ready to die. And he did, though that decision haunted him for months." Leo took a deep breath and Len felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees at the boys tension. "The woman's husband blamed him though, swore revenge, all that kind of stuff. He thought that since his loved one couldn't be saved, then neither could Len."

"He killed me." It wasn't a question really, but Len had to say it.

Leo though shook his head. "That was his plan. But he was determined to do it in a way that wasn't fixable, determined to make it so the Flash or hailstorm or any other speedster couldnt go back and save you."

"How would he do that," Barry chimed, frowning in confusion. "That's not really how time travel works. I've been back to the same point in time at least three times and I could still save my mom if I _wanted_  to. How would he have made it impossible?"

"Nearly twenty two years ago, you put your hand on a bomb that was supposed to kill you," Leo said, eyes never leaving Lens. "Problem was, it was attached to a machine that controlled time, it was unpredictable. The repercussions of blowing up something that powerful were unknown."

"The Oculus," Mick said from the doorway and Leo nodded.

"Len didn't die in the explosion like we originally thought. The Oculus, it was a prisoner being controlled by the Time Masters just like Kronos was. So when Len set it free, it saved his life in return, shoving him into the time stream where he was safe, but trapped." Leo gestured to him and Mickey. "Before we were heroes, the story was that the Flash needed your help, needed to save you for some reason or another, but he couldn't go back in time since the Oculus was in the temporal zone. When they found out where you were, Cisco opened a breach and ripped you out." The air grew heavy as the story went on, Len struggling to remember those events. It was strange trying to connect the order of events, trying to remember things that were his past and future at the same time. "But this guy, he messed with the timeline. He went back instead, entered the time stream just before Barry and Cisco so that they'd find you dead. Mickey couldn't let that happen. You're kind of a big deal in the future. Without you she'd never be born, a lot of people would have died in a war that rained down on Central years later, people would have died. So she had Roxy open a breach to grab you before the guy could kill you. She dropped you off right where Barry and Cisco were about to breach so the time line didn't change as much."

He paused, frowning down at Mickey with a mix of frustration and worry on his brow. "We didn't know that she had no intentions of coming back. She stayed there to keep the guy from returning. But like the speedforce, the time stream works differently than here. She was only gone for maybe 5 hours at the most to _us_ , but for her it was like 5 years. Five years of fighting this guy, five years of running and keeping him away from any sort of exit." Leo took a deep breath, fingers clenching around his arms and Len could see the gentle frost coating his fingers. "When she didn't return right away, we knew something was wrong. It took us another hour and a half for Roxy and Cisco both to locate her and pull her back out, but she..." Leo stepped forward and took the girls hand, sitting in one of the seats next to the bed. "She wasn't the same. Mom explained it like a sort of meta ptsd. Her powers had been compensating for the time stream while she was in there, keeping her alive, helping her survive. She wasn't used to being back in the outside world and everything seemed to set her off."

"Like when a car backfires and someone gets thrown back to a war they fought," Caitlin supplied, earning understanding nods from the audience.

"Exactly. Most of the time Mickey didn't know where or when she was. She had these episodes where she was moving too fast or too slow or just not at all. She wouldn't sleep or eat or speak. It was terrifying and we didn't know what to do."

Something in Len was uncomfortable with the idea of his own daughter sacrificing herself for him, and maybe it was the part that knew he'd never do the same for Lewis... and yet at the same time there was a pride there, knowing she'd grown up to be a hero like her father. "She sacrificed herself for me? I'm not that important."

"You were to the timeline," Leo argued. "You saved the Flash's life twice during the war and saved Supergirl's as well. Without those two, the world would be a completely different place right now."

Len didn't argue back, knowing better than to try and logic out time travel, knew better than to tell the white hats that he wasn't worth it. Instead he hummed and glanced back at Mickey. "She said she anchored herself to Roxy?"

"Yeah," the young hero nodded. "It was actually mom's idea. Mickey's episodes were almost like- like her powers were trying to pull her back _into_ the time stream because they were so used to being there. So mom figured if we could stabilize her, nail her down to something in _that time_ , then the episodes would go away. Mickey would be back before you or her dad realized anything had even happened." Leo reached up and pulled the edge of Mickey's STAR LABS sweatshirt down, revealing a patch of skin that was almost two shades darker than her own. It was in the perfect shape of a hand print, folding over her collarbone, right where the shoulder and neck met. "Cisco helped Roxy focus, walked her through it, though it was all guess work since he'd never done it before.... but we were running out of time and she was getting further and further away from us. It was agonizing for both of them- Roxy had to change their entire vibrational frequency until they matched. Where each earth vibrates at a different frequency, and each person on that earth vibrates to _that_ earth's frequency, those two are their own."

Cisco nodded, following along. "It's like when I touch Harry," he mumbled thoughtfully. "I can tell he's from a different earth because he's not vibrating the same as us."

"Exactly, but instead, if you touch Mickey you'll get Roxy's vibrations," Leo continued. "And it worked for the most part. As you can see if they're apart for too long it can... go bad, but everyone was safe...'

"But Roxy said _he_  has her now, I assume that's the guy trying to kill Snart?" Cisco clarified.

"That'd be him, Daniel Harrison." Leo pulled his hand away from Mickey's to tap at a strange looking watch on his wrist. A moment later, the image of a middle aged man was projected from it, his name, age and a six digit number hovering above his head. "He was just a normal guy who had some bad shit happen to him and he let it poison him. So when Roxy and I pulled Mickey out, we didn't know why she'd stayed in the first place. We had no way of knowing that she was trying to keep him trapped inside also."

He let the sentence hang until Lisa chimed in, worry tinging her voice. "So without her there to fight him, he escaped too?"

Leo nodded, running a hand through his hair and leaving snowflakes on the strands. "Looks like... and he's got Roxy now."

"Well then," Barry said, dropping a hand on Leo's shoulder and giving the boy a hopeful smile. "Let's get her back."


End file.
